What Bobbin Sizes Do I Need?

Whether you work with different brands and models of sewing machines on a regular basis or you are simply buying extra bobbins for your home sewing machine, it is important to know about the many different bobbin sizes available on the market today. ZJ Humbach shows several of the different bobbin sizes, what machines they work in and explains how using the wrong size of bobbin can affect your stitch quality.

Bobbin Sizes

Similar to many sewing tools, bobbins come in various sizes and styles. Some are labeled with letters like an ‘M’ or ‘L’, which others are numbered like ‘15’. Knowing what type and size of bobbin your machine uses is important. Not all bobbins are clearly labeled with their size and style, however your machine manual should tell you what size bobbin to use with your machine. ZJ shows several of the different bobbin sizes and explains what machines they are used for. Larger bobbin sizes are typically for long arm quilting machines or some embroidery machines. If you are someone who has multiple machines at home, or has several different types of machines, knowing how to organize your bobbins so you can easily find the correct size and type is important.

Which size bobbin do I need?

Bobbins not only come in different sizes, but also in metal as well as plastic, and empty as well as pre-wound. While machines can only use one bobbin size, whether it is plastic or metal does not typically matter, however consult your machine manual to be sure. When buying bobbins, you can either buy them pre-wound or buy them empty and then learn how to wind them. When winding a bobbin it is also important to learn how to get perfect bobbin tension. Bobbin tension can be affected by bobbin type and size as well as how fast the bobbin is wound, so it is important to consult your specific machine manual for bobbin winding instructions.